Enchiladas - P'Choizo 'Black Beans

By Kwasome

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 6 ounces) dry black beans, rinsed
• 2 avocado leaves OR 1/2 rib of fresh fennel, roughly chopped
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) chorizo sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon
• 12 corn tortillas (plus a few extra, in case some break)
• About 3/4 cup Serrano-Tomatillo Salsa (optional)
• 3/4 cup (about 3 ounces) crumbled Mexican queso fresco, dry goat cheese or salted farmer’s cheese
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

Step 1

1. Make black bean sauce. Place the beans in a medium-size (2- to 3-quart) saucepan, cover with 3 cups water, remove any beans that float and heat slowly to a simmer.
If using avocado leaves, toast them for a few seconds per side (they’ll become aromatic and lightly brown) over a medium gas flame or heated griddle. Add the avocado leaves (or fennel),
1/4 cup of the chorizo and 1/2 of the onion to the beans, partially cover and simmer over medium to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are fully tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If you see the beans peeking up through the liquid, add water to cover them by
1/2-inch.
Coarsely puree the beans in batches in a food processor or loosely covered blender. Return to the pot and add enough water to thin to the consistency of a medium cream soup. Taste and season with salt.
2. The tortillas and chorizo. Set up a steamer (a vegetable steamer in a large saucepan
filled with 1/2 inch of water works well); heat to a boil. Wrap the tortillas in a heavy kitchen towel, lay in the steamer and cover with a tight lid. Boil 1 minute, turn off the heat and let stand without opening the steamer for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small (7- to 8-inch) skillet, cook the remaining 1 cup of chorizo over
medium-low heat until done, about 10 minutes, breaking up any clumps as it cooks. Drain off the rendered fat, cover the skillet and keep warm over very low heat.
3. Finish the enfrijoladas. Turn the oven on to the lowest setting and warm a serving platter in it. Pour out 1 1/2 cups of the warm bean sauce onto a deep plate. One by one, dip both sides of the warm tortillas into the sauce, fold into quarters and transfer to the warm serving platter, laying the tortillas in 2 rows, slightly overlapping. Keep warm in the oven. Scrape any bean sauce remaining on the plate back into the pot. (If the sauce has thickened, add a little water to get it back to the original consistency.) Quickly bring it to a simmer, spoon it over the folded tortillas (there should be a considerable amount of sauce), strew with the warm chorizo, splash with the optional salsa, then sprinkle on the crumbled cheese, chopped parsley and the remaining sliced onion. Serve your delicious enfrijoladas without
hesitation--they don’t take well to delays.
Advance Preparation. The black beans can be prepared through Step 1 several days ahead; the chorizo can be cooked, too. Store separately in the refrigerator, covered. Reheat the sauce slowly in a covered pan, thinning if necessary. Warm the chorizo before heating the
tortillas and finishing the dish.